<p>Temple and Drexel
Uconn is sort of in the middle of nowhere (30 minutes to the closest large shopping area), but at a school of ~15,000 students the campus is always bustling and i dont know of anyone who has ever been bored there!</p>
<p>Also look into Dickinson College-strong international focus-and they have East Asian studies. Your D's stats would be competitive, but the lack of EC's may hurt there.</p>
<p>What would you recommend further South (Washington or Va. for example)</p>
<p>For Dickinson, I think the strong numbers would make up for the lack of ECs. They also give good merit money. They are very strong on languages, are known for quality faculty,and have a nice laid-back atmosphere. Great study abroad programs. Carlisle is pretty boring though and it may be too small for some. My son liked it but thought he would be bored there after one year.</p>
<p>The University of Delaware offered a substantial merit scholarship to my son, an out-of-state student whose SAT scores (V & M only; he took the old SAT) were about 100 points LOWER than your daughter's. And his ECs were minimal, too.</p>
<p>I think UDel would kill to get your kid. It might be a nice safety school (both financially and academically).</p>
<p>Mine had similar stats and got a nice merit from Northeastern. Got waitlisted at Boston University. He had lots of ECs including international travel with drama group, lots of community service, etc. One thing I found out is that some kids got rejected at BU for not taking math senior year. Mine took AP Stats senior year but he still got the waitlist....</p>
<p>Forgot to mention he was accepted into Honors program at Northeastern and they are building a beautiful new dorm for honors kids. He also got into George Washington if you are interested in farther south but they are one of the most expensive and did not offer any money.</p>
<p>macnyc -- I'm a sophomore at UMD in the honors program....if you have any questions about that feel free to contact me. The location is great and the honors program has been terrific. However, the financial aid (merit-based) is sorely lacking so that might be a downside for you.</p>
<p>Agree with many of the other posters' suggestions: U Del would be a terrific safe bet school. UMd has a strong Asian studies dept. Don't know about Udel's financial aid, but have heard that UMd follows the frequent path of not so much money to OOS'ers. </p>
<p>GW might be interesting - definitely not in the middle of nowhere, and if she likes the larger schools, it might fit the bill. Very strong Asian studies and language. Not too familiar with their sciences since my kids don't study that.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion of Dickenson for languages and financial aid, but it is on the small side which can be limiting. </p>
<p>How about Hopkins as a stretch school? Very strong in science, and has good Japanese studies.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the great suggestions! I realize that I misspoke with the phrase "mid-level" universities. What I meant: colleges in the top 100 but "below" the Ivies in rank (and selectivity).</p>
<p>Toneranger and others, I hear you loud and clear about the Ivies. I know that realistically, they are out of reach for D. Her hs has an online list of last year's acceptances. Cornell took very few kids from her school who had less than a 95 GPA.</p>
<p>Too bad she's not interested in women's colleges, because they sound really wonderful to me. We did tour Barnard, though. While it's not high on her list, it hasn't been ruled out. I would just prefer her to get out of Manhattan for a while and experience another part of the country. </p>
<p>D is attending a program this summer at JHU. That will give her a chance to live in a Hopkins dorm for two weeks and see if she likes the environment. (I know that JHU will also be a reach for D, since her math scores aren't great. But it would be a more realistic reach, especially if she loves it after spending time there.) A couple of days beforehand we'll drive down and take in U of Maryland. I was wondering about William and Mary too. I know it's hard OOS, and I think it would be more expensive than D's other choices.</p>
<p>On the way home from JHU, we will try to stop at U of Delaware too. </p>
<p>I had wondered about Penn State, but I hear that the fin aid isn't good OOS (that's an understatement). Other than that, I think it would be a great place for D.</p>
<p>I found out that Jet Blue has just started flying to Pittsburgh! So ophiolite, thanks for that suggestion. D will definitely check it out. </p>
<p>So if anyone has any additional suggestions, please feel free to chime in. As always, I appreciate the wealth of experience and common sense here. To recap: D is interested in environmental science and Japanese language. Thanks!</p>
<p>MacNYC - I don't know if George Washington has the programs that your daughter is looking for, but they offered my son and many of his friends lots of money - I think they're good with aid, but yes, very expensive, nonetheless.
Rochester usually gives around $10,000 - $12,000 to high level NYS residents.
My son got into Maryland Honors - a very small amount of merit money was offered.
I agree that Cornell was impossible this year, unless application was ED. One person we know got into CalTech, another into Harvard and Duke - neither into Cornell. However, students with lower stats got in ED, which she may want to consider if it's truly what she wants.
Also, University of Pennsylvania might be worth a shot - but again, they have a much much higher admit rate - ED.</p>
<p>I would definately look at George Washington since your daughter will be so close by at JHU. It has the Asian Studies program for sure and I think they also have Environmental Science. It's expensive, but many people with SAT CR+M of 1400+ get Presidential Scholarships of half tuition which makes it quite affordable.</p>
<p>Might want to look at some of the larger LAC'S-Bucknell, Holy Cross,and Colgate. Holy Cross is expanding its merit aid and is 1 hour from Boston while Colgate and Bucknell are more remote.</p>
<p>Par72, do you have any specifics about how Holy Cross will be expanding merit aid. My son was accepted this year, with excellent credentials and received nothing, thus had to decline attendence.</p>
<p>GW has a not so great Japanese program, according to a former class mate of mine. Apparently, they were learning basic, basic grammar in "advanced" Japanese. She seems to enjoy the schook in other respects (already got a Congressional internship as a freshman) and both here and a friend who will be a freshman next year got good merit aid, though it is still a various expensive school.</p>
<p>i would add Northwestern and JHU as slight reaches (w. NU being a tad bit harder)</p>
<p>My advice would be to identify ONE really good rolling admission match where you can cover the costs & where your D would enjoy attending, and apply very early to that school. Based on the result, you will be able to adjust the other 6 apps accordingly, taking a few more fliers or keeping a few more safe/match schools.</p>
<p>MAC-
With very similar stats and interests, my S is now a rising senior (already?!) at W & M from OOS. If your D is used to the hustle and bustle of NYC, Williamsburg may feel a bit 'slow'...
They do have an interesting Japanese program with the opportunity to act as a host during the summer to visiting students, and then travel to Japan to study. S has taken 2 years of Japanese and is now switching to Chinese (for fun!!).</p>
<p>My suggestions - in general look into Brandeis, Case-Western Reserve, and Carnegie-Mellon. George Washington and Pitt also sound like good possibilities.</p>
<p>I agree with the post #4. Your daughter is good enough for most of reach schools, even HYPSM, if she really works on her essays and applications and has excellent recommendation letters. I know a student who's accepted by one of Ivies with a low SAT (below 2100), an average GPA, and minimum ECs. Please check Princeton Review at <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingsBest.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingsBest.asp</a>. It might give you some ideas. Good luck fo your D's college application.</p>